Governors of five states agree to work on climate

Governors of Arizona, California, New Mexico, Oregon, and Washington agreed today to work together to develop a regional target to lower greenhouse gases. The five said that their region was suffering from some of the worst of global warming with droughts and severe wildfires. They planned to create programs to help businesses reach "still-undecided goals."

"In the absence of meaningful federal action, it is up to the states to take action to address climate change and reduce greenhouse gas emissions in this country," said Arizona Gov. Janet Napolitano, a Democrat. "Western states are being particularly hard-hit by the effects of climate change."

California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, a Republican, said a so-called cap-and-trade program, which lets companies that can't meet their emission reduction targets buy credits from those that reduce carbon dioxide, would provide "a powerful framework for developing a national cap-and-trade program. ... This agreement shows the power of states to lead our nation addressing climate change."

The initiative will be known as the "Western Regional Climate Action Initiative."